November 17, 2015

Our liver is quite underappreciated, but it does remarkable things for us. The liver turns the nutrient sin our food into substances that the body can use. Our liver converts toxins we ingest into harmless substance or ensures they are removed from the body.

When our liver works well, the metabolism is in equilibrium. Dietary substances and drugs can impact the liver and cause havoc to this system which may lead to liver problems for us. The FDA is working to prevent liver damage caused by drugs.

FDA gastrointestinal medical reviewer and consultant in hepatology, John R. Senior, M.D., says that drugs can cause liver problems, but that the problems occur rarely. He says it’s difficult to determine how drugs will impact the liver of any given patient because each one is different. He says they work to prevent toxicity to the liver from drugs.

Rapid deterioration of the organ’s ability to function, is called acute liver failure. OTC drugs or over the counter drugs have been shown from data to cause more acute liver failure cases more than any other cause combined.

Dietary supplements have bene shown by the FDA to cause some liver damage. The FDA issues warnings and sent letter to various companies making muscle building and weight loss supplements. A Texas company in one case, recalled and destroyed a certain dietary supplement after it discovered that is was causing non-viral hepatitis and liver failure.

Symptoms and Signs

What are the signs of liver problems?

You may have a poor appetite or feel tired all the time. You may develop jaundice which is a yellow color around the eyes or you may get itchy. The skin is itchy because the liver can’t clear toxins as well as it should.

A patient may take a drug that they haven’t used before and have some of those symptoms. In this case, the person needs to seek medical attention and stop the use of the drug if it’s shown to be causing problems for them.

If a patient has been using the drug for a long time and they get symptoms, then it may be something else. It’s hard to determine if it’s a drug causing the symptoms or something else entirely. Excessive consumption of alcohol as well as obesity also damage the liver.

The FDA works to ensure that consumers are safe. The FDA asked for withdrawal of over 120 applications for combination prescription acetaminophen drug products that contained more than 325 mg acetaminophen per dosage unit in 2014. The FDA told physicians and pharmacists to stop dispensing and prescribing medications that contained more than 325mg of acetaminophen per dose. As a result of this, manufacturers have stopped marketing prescription combination products that have more than 325 mg of acetaminophen

Other products that may damage the liver are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications as well as certain antibiotics.

The liver has regenerative properties and can regenerate even when 65% is surgically removed such as during a cancer treatment or destroyed. The organ can become tolerant to drug products and other foreign agents. If the liver isn’t healthy, there can be complications from drug interactions can be severe.

How to get rid of toothache? In most cases, the best way to stop dental or jaw pain initially is with pain medications and antibiotics (Amoxicillin). A referral to a dentist for follow-up will usually be arranged. In some cases, the doctor may try an injection of local anesthetic around the tooth for pain control.

When you have a mild toothache, natural toothache treatment remedies are usually adequate enough to manage the dental pain. Less serious dental problems such as a small cavity will rarely require a stronger medication.

November 9, 2015

People turn to sugar substitutes to cut down on calories or for other reasons. Another name for them is high-intensity sweeteners and they are used to replace regular table sugar. They are often used alone to sweeten foods and beverages or can be combined with other ingredients if foods you buy at the store. There are many different sugar substitutes that you can buy on the market today.

These sugar substitutes are called “high intensity” because they have a large punch in the sweetness factor according to U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) director of the Division of Petition Review at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Captain Andrew Zajac.

Zajac says that regular sweeteners like molasses, honey or sugar, these high-intensity sweeteners add no calories or few calories to foods and don’t raise blood sugar levels in general. A new high-intensity sweetener called advantame, has been approved by the FDA.

The sweetener Advantame doesn’t have a brand name yet such as Equal, a brand name for aspartame or Sweet’N Low, a brand name for saccharin. It has been approved for use as a food additive and to add flavor enhancement for foods except in poultry and other meats.

Are These Sugar Substitutes Safe?

By law the FDA is required to review new food additives before they are released to market. When the company submits a food additive petition to the FDA the review process begins. One exception is for products that are deemed to be “generally recognized as safe,” or what is called GRAS. These are recognized by experts as safe under their intended use and don’t have to go through the food additive approval process like other additives do. Zajac indicates that the agency reviews all the scientific evidence a company provides before any product is deemed to be safe for the use intended.

Advantame was reviewed by the FDA by using 37 human and animal studies to look for harmful effects such as those on the nervous, developmental, reproductive, and immune systems of the body according to Zajac.

The product advantame is relate dot the sweetener aspartame and some individuals should restrict or avoid the use of aspartame. The studies also look at whether these individuals should refrain from the use of advantame as well.

Those with PKU) or phenylketonuria which is a rare genetic disorder can’t metabolize phenylalanine completely which is in both advantame and aspartame. Newborns get a test for PKU before they leave the hospital to ensure they can tolerate aspartame if it’s given to them.

November 4, 2015

Obesity problems are rising at an alarming rate in modern days. Most people are trying their level best to control weight gain in various ways like dieting, exercises and other prescribed methods.

But the fact is that the causes of obesity must be ascertained before treatment because the increase in weight is due to many causes and not simply to excess eating or laziness.

What are the main causes that lead to obesity?

According to doctors and health specialists obesity is caused when there is lack of balance in the intake of calories and the required amount and also when it is not burned out to generate energy.

The other causes that lead to obesity have been found to be related to:

Genetics: Some are fat and overweight because their parents are obese.

Overeating is another cause of weight gain especially the intake of fast foods and simple carbohydrates that are rich in saturated fats.

Slow metabolism rate also causes obesity in many individuals.

Lack of physical activities cause weight gain especially in those persons who are into desk work. Regular exercises is a must for such people.

Certain medications are also responsible for obesity namely the anti-depressant pills, etc.

Another important internal problem that causes obesity is hormonal causes. In most cases, we assume that excess of sugar intake or lack of exercises or may be psychological factors are the root causes of excess weight and overlook the hormonal aspects of the body.

Hormonal causes of obesity

There are certain hormones in the body that cause obesity. They are namely:

Leptin, sex hormones and growth hormones are responsible for metabolism, appetite and distribution of fat in the body according to requirements. When the levels of these hormones are disturbed, metabolism rate is slow and proper functioning of the body is hampered leading to accumulation of fat.

Insulin is important for distribution of carbohydrates and metabolism of fat. When this important hormone signals are lost and the tissues cannot control the glucose levels, fat accumulates especially around the mid-section of the body and the person suffers from Diabetes.

Sex hormones are responsible for distributing body fat in humans. Post menopausal women often gain weight due to the disturbance of these hormones like oestrogens and androgens.

Growth hormones also cause obesity in those people who have a lower rate than others of normal weight.

Hence it is important to determine the causes of obesity and then take necessary measures to burn excess weight and prevent weight gain.